Arrhenatherum elatius var. bulbosum 'Variegatum' is a new kid on the block in my USDA zone 7 garden. I just planted it late last season, so it hasn't bloomed yet for me. So far I really like it and hope it fulfills its reputation and starts spreading. Supposedly, it can become invasive when it's really happy...we'll see. It is reputed to spread rapidly and make a good groundcover about six to 12 inches (30.48cm) high, which is what I want it to do.
This member of the Poaceae family (Graminea) is a clump-forming grass with a tuberous root system. The basal culms (base of the stem in grass language) are swollen, which accounts for the "bulbous" in the common name. As you can see from the slow loading photo, this gives it an oniony look, which accounts for another of its common names, onion twitch.
If you're as crazed for variegated foliage as I am, you will want to find a spot for this grass. It stayed evergreen for me this past winter, admittedly a mild one, and the foliage right now is practically white - extremely nifty in my opinion.
I've only found three retail online nurseries listing Arrhenatherum elatius var. bulbosum 'Variegatum':
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Various sources list it as hardy from (pick one) USDA zone 2 to 9, 3 to 10 or 4 to 9. Given the northern extreme to the range, I would suspect that it does best in cooler climates, but it's worth a try anywhere in the range. I've read that the foliage can look shabby by mid-summer in very hot climates but it hasn't been in place in my garden long enough for me to have experience with this. If it does, I'll give it a haircut in midsummer. If you are in a cool climate, put yours in more sun.
Conflicting reports state that it does best in moist, well-drained acid soils and that, because of the tuberous roots, it's useful for dry sites. Like much garden advice, I suspect it depends on where the writer was growing the plant. However, the consensus is that it does not like heavy, wet clay soils very much.
I've put it on a bank under a mature oak where it gets late afternoon sun and dappled shade the rest of the day. While the soil does dry out there, it's mostly covered with well rotted woodchips over my native clay, so we'll see how it progresses. It seems quite happy at this point.
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